Synthesis of efficient iron phosphide catalyst for electrocatalytic hydrogen generation

A solvothermal synthesis of iron phosphide electrocatalysts using triphenylphosphine (TPP) as phosphorus precursor is presented. The synthetic protocol generates Fe2P/FeP phase at 350°C. After deposition of the catalyst onto graphite substrate heat-treatment at higher temperature was carried out. Annealing at 500°C under reductive atmosphere induced structural changes in the Fe2P/FeP samples which yielded a pure Fe2P phase. The electrocatalytic activity of the Fe2P catalyst was studied for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 0.5 M H2SO4. The recorded overpotential for HER was about 130 mV vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) at 10 mA cm−